July 27, 1901 – American baseball Hall of Fame shortstop and major league manager Leo Durocher is born in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Controversial and outspoken (nicknamed “Leo the Lip”), his managerial career included the years 1966-1972 with the Chicago Cubs.
July 28, 1929 – Jacqueline (Jackie) Bouvier Kennedy Onassis is born in Southampton, New York. She is credited with refining the role of First Lady into a platform for arts and culture during the presidency of her husband, John Kennedy, and inspired worldwide fashion trends.
July 29, 1905 – Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish public servant, second Secretary General of the United Nations (1953-1961), and posthumous Nobel Peace Prize winner, is born in Jonkoping, Sweden.
July 30, 1863 – Automotive pioneer Henry Ford is born in Dearborn Township, Michigan. His perfection of assembly line construction led to his Ford Model T, launched in 1908, becoming affordable to the American middle class. It would remain in production until 1927 with about 15 million being sold.
August 4, 1901 – Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
August 4, 1961 – 44th U. S. President Barack Obama is born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He wins the Presidential election of November 4, 2008 to become the first President of African American origin.
August 6, 1809 – British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson (who authored “The Charge of the Light Brigade” among other works) is born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England.
August 7, 1876 – International spy Mata Hari is born in the Netherlands. She was arrested by the French in 1917, tried as a German spy, and executed by a firing squad.